Johnson Shares Emoji Research with Sony Employees

Mar. 31, 2021 —
NMU alumna Lucy Johnson (‘10 BS, ‘13 MA) presented her research on emoji to more than 300 Sony Interactive Entertainment employees, mostly from PlayStation, with others representing Sony Music and Sony Productions. Her remote talk took place Tuesday, March 30, as part of an invited speaker series for Women's History Month. She is an assistant professor of digital literacies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Alumna Brings Finnish Asahi to NMU

Mar. 31, 2021 —
Northern Michigan University alumna Margaret Vainio ('76 BA) recalls a life-changing trip to Finland with the NMU Arts Chorale when she was a student. As the group was preparing to leave, she asked the bus driver to drop her off at the train station because she felt inspired to stay there longer. A year later, she moved to Finland permanently and eventually was exposed to Asahi, a Finnish exercise program. Now she has started a second career as an Asahi instructor and will soon bring it to NMU.